Prince Kemény János of Transylvania (1607-1662)
Prince Kemény János of Transylvania (1607-1662)
Kemény was a Hungarian aristocrat, writer, and prince of Transylvania who held various political and military positions in the Principality of Transylvania during the reign of Princes Bethlen Gábor and Rákóczi György I. Kemény is one of the divisive figures of Hungarian history, now let us take a look at his life and family. Please note that I am using the Oriental name order for Hungarians, where the surname comes first…
His father was Kemény Boldizsár, his mother was Tornyi Zsófia. He was born in Magyarbükkös. His first teacher was Albisi Márton, and later he went to school in Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia), the capital of Transylvania. Then he became the page of Prince Bethlen Gábor. At his court, he learned how to govern a state. He also gained good connections and we can find him beside the prince when Bethlen led a campaign to the Kingdom of Hungary in 1623. Kemény had a way with words, he was the one who held a speech the next year when Károlyi Zsuzsanna, Bethlen’s wife, died.
The prince sent him to Brandenburg in 1625 to make a formal proposal to Princess Catherine on behalf of Bethlen. You can read more about Catherine of Brandenburg here:
https://www.hungarianottomanwars.com/essays/catherine-of-brandenburg-wife-of-prince-bethlen/
Kemény took part in every campaign of Bethlen Gábor, but he also acted as the prince’s diplomat. His missions took him to the courts of the Hungarian nobility and Poland, but he also traveled to the Sultan. When Bethlen died in 1629, he delivered the news to Emperor Ferdinand II, king of Hungary and ruler of the HRE. During the power struggle, he supported István, the younger brother of Bethlen, instead of Princess Catherine, to gain the throne of Transylvania.
In 1630 Kemény János became the chief captain of the key fortress of Fogaras, as well as the Vice Comes of Fehér County. Two years later he married Kállay Zsuzsanna. Their son Simon was born in 1633. During the reign of Prince Rákóczi György I (1630-1648), he was the chief chamberlain of the principality. He took part in Rákóczi’s campaign in Moldova and the war against the Kingdom of Hungary in 1644. His military successes paved the way for further advancement. Prince Rákóczi György II (reigned 1648-1660) appointed him as his first chancellor and commander of the court army. He was also the general of the field army. His influence in the court was so strong that he could not be bypassed in any political decision. When the child of Rákóczi Ferenc I was elected prince, Kemény was mentioned as a possible governor of Transylvania.
He defeated the army of Voivode Lupu of Moldova in 1653. When Rákóczi György II started his unfortunate Polish war in 1657, Kemény was the chief general of the Transylvanian army. The aim was to get the Polish crown for Rákóczi. Kemény also objected to the prince’s ill-conceived Polish venture and reluctantly took command of the campaign, which ended in disaster. On July 31, 1657, he and most of his army were captured by the Crimean Tatars, as his army was deserted by the Swedish allies. The Crimean Tatars were the allies of the Ottoman Turks, they were called by the Polish nobles against Rákóczi. You can read about Rákóczi’s unfortunate Polish war here:
Kemény was held captive by the Tatars until August 1659, when he was released for a huge ransom of 116,000 thalers. During his captivity in Bakhchisaray, he wrote his autobiography (in Hungarian), one of the most excellent masterpieces of Transylvanian memoir literature of the 17th century. He openly blamed Prince Rákóczi in his writings, because he was hurt that the prince did not help to ransom him. He also hated Prince Rákóczi György I, the “old” prince, although the late ruler had been good to him. His writing contributed to the negative reputation of Prince Rákóczi György I. However, he did not write anything bad about Prince Bethlen Gábor.
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